Summer Cannery Job in Alaska (Summer Jobs)

pinenut_canary

I'm senior in college, and due to me finding my major pretty late, I'm going to have to take the "victory lap" and do an extra quarter (Fall, 2009). By then I will be cut off from my funds (Federal and Parents), so I'll have to make about $4000 by September.

At the moment I'm searching for a job but everything is pretty sparse around here, and I will be saving up money and cutting out unnecessary spending. Some of the people I've met during college have done cannery jobs in Alaska, but all I heard was them mentioning it, and I never got a chance to prod them for more questions.

So I'm curious if any of you guys worked in Alaska in a cannery during the summer, and would like to hear your accounts. I've read up on the position online and got varying amounts of information (mostly on pay), but I would still like to hear from people.

-How much money did you make? (I know it depends on the catch, but I'd still like to know)
-How long did you work for?
-Where/in what did you live?
-How was transportation arranged?

I'm not scared of the physical labor, as I have done a lot of physical work throughout my time. Also, are there any recommendations for other summer jobs? I'd like to make as much money as possible. I know I have my chances at working at the mall or at Home Depot, but I'd like to try something new.

Thanks

Quid

I can offer that my brother was a fisherman up there for several years, working six months there and then would spend six in Amsterdam. Even taking into account this was twenty years ago that's good money.

If you want good money south of there and are over 21 I'd recommend maybe checking out a Bonefish Grill. It;s a good place to wait tables and the standard for weekends was over a $100 in tips.

pinenut_canary

I hear that it's good money (cannery job), but some websites say that I'll make around 3000-4000 on a slow season, and another one has said around 7,000. Some people even end up losing money.

I guess I should give a little info about myself:
Age: 22
Location: Washington State
Major: English - Creative Writing
Past Jobs:
-Costco
-UPS
-Dad's mail and copy center (think Fedex-Kinko's)

PaleCommander

My dad actually did a summer cannery job in Alaska once during high school/college. Unfortunately, about all I've heard about it from him was that it paid well and that it was extremely grueling work (mostly emphasis on the grueling). Overall, it didn't sound like he regretted the experience.

Graydeath

I did this about 4 or 5 years ago for two summers and I had a blast. I only made about 3000-4000 dollars after paying for my transportation ect. I also stayed with relatives and didn't have to pay any kind of rent. I know the place I worked for had a bunkhouse type thing for workers that was relatively cheap but I can't really comment much on that.

Not sure how much has changed since I was up there but I was making $9 and hour I believe. It was a small company though and I'm sure there are better options up there.

The work itself was pretty simple but the hours kinda sucked. During the busy times we would work 7 days a week 10 hours a day I think a few times I worked a 16 hour day but it didn't happen often.

Looking back I'm not sure that it was worth the money but the experience was one that I wouldn't trade for anything. Some of the best memories I have are from the summers I spent up there.

If you have any specific questions let me know and I will try to answer them.

Wezoin

I'm looking to do this too (well, not really Cannery, but something in Alaska.) Can anyone comment on how hard it is to get a green card (for a Canadian) to work in Alaska? Also, in terms of cost to rent, the kind of money to expect?